


Ben's Crime

by Loveatfirstbook



Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Lovely Little Ficlets challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 20:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3146867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loveatfirstbook/pseuds/Loveatfirstbook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"At the grand age of fourteen, Benedick Hobbes had been branded a criminal. Not by the police or any particular authority but by the girl he’d only met a few weeks before."</p>
<p>Ben's accusal and Bea's explanation.</p>
<p>Day 8 of the Lovely Little Ficlets challenge</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ben's Crime

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the fluffiest things I've written so far for the challenge.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

At the grand age of fourteen, Benedick Hobbes had been branded a criminal. Not by the police or any particular authority but by the girl he’d only met a few weeks before.

“Your views of crime are rudimentary, Beatrice,” he’d grinned, walking back into the conversation with an ice-cream in his left hand. “Serial killers and jewel theft aren’t the only crimes in the world.”

“You’d know, wouldn’t you, Benedick?” she’d whispered so low that his ears strained to catch her words. “You’re the only criminal in the world I’ve ever met.”

“I’m certainly not a criminal,” Ben retorted.

“You definitely are. Just because you put what you took back, it doesn’t mean you never took it.” Bea turned and fled with glassy eyes, leaving behind a befuddled Ben. What had he taken? Bea wasn’t making any sense but that didn’t hinder his brain from mulling her words over for many years to come.

When Ben had left Beatrice, she’d been beaming at him like she had been for the entire summer so far. For some unnameable reason, it felt as if the euphoria that had soaked through the summer had vanished alongside the smile. It was years before the same smile, not triumphant or smug but genuine, was directed at him again.

...

“Bea,” Ben, at the wise old age of eighteen, tentatively began while scrambling from the Duke’s bathtub, “I know that it’s a weird thing to ask but why did you call me a criminal when we were fourteen? Like just before you ignored me for the rest of the summer.”

Beatrice turned to face him as they approached the doorway after filming ‘BLEURGH’. What he could see of her face was the strange expression she used when she was trying to avoid talking about something. Or lying. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve called you a lot of things over the years but a criminal isn’t one of them.”

“And after we just filmed a video on the importance of honesty and communication, love?” he rolled his eyes and awaited a real answer. 

Bea caved more quickly than usual, if she caved to any arguments at all, sliding to the floor against the hallway wall. “Fine. I remember that day perfectly.”

“So what did I do?” Ben patiently asked, now more sure that he would receive an honest answer. He moved to sit next to her.

Bea avoided his gaze, choosing instead to stare at the ceiling. “Before that day, I thought we’d fallen in love. Then we’d been talking about what had been on the news recently and you’d wandered off to get an ice-cream.” Bea paused to rest her head on his shoulder. “The girl asked you if you’d like to buy one for your girlfriend too.”

“And I was a complete jerk about it,” Ben filled in the blanks.

“I believe your exact words were, ‘Woah, where did you get that kind of an idea from? Bea’s fun to debate with and all but I’d rather not make a commitment to a dumb girl. Living in the now is much more my style.’”

His fingers stretched up to stroke Bea’s hair. “No wonder you hated me so much after that.”

She lifted her head to look him in the eyes, her face inches from his. “You’re loyalty to Hero and I has more than made up for your criminal status.”

“But why a criminal?”

“I thought it was obvious,” Beatrice said. “You stole my heart and put it back where it was after taking a piece for yourself.”

“Oh, Bea.”

“You aren’t a criminal anymore, though.”

Her words confused him. Had he misunderstood the entire conversation? “Why?” 

“Because you can’t steal something that was freely given to you and now my whole heart is yours,” she whispered and leant forward into a kiss.


End file.
